The present invention relates to conveyors, and, in particular, to a module for providing electricity to a pallet carried on the conveyor.
When electrical appliances are assembled, the assembly is often done on a conveyor line. The appliance is placed on a pallet, and the pallet travels along the conveyor, from one station to another, with different parts of the assembly taking place at different stations. In many cases, it is desirable to be able to provide electricity to the appliances as they travel along the conveyor and as they are assembled. Appliances for which this is desirable include televisions, clothes dryers, window air conditioners, and so forth. The purpose of electrification modules is to provide electricity to the pallets on the conveyor. The appliances can then be plugged into the pallet on which they travel during the assembly process.
There have been some problems with the electrification modules in the past, many of which are solved by the present invention. For example, the shoes which provide electrical contact between the module and the pallet generally provide a relatively small surface area for contacting the pallet. They also wear down, and, once they have worn to a certain point, they stop making good contact with the pallet and have to be replaced. Removing the modules from their frame in order to replace the shoes is often difficult. Also, the shoes are spring-loaded, and the pallets are heavy, so there has been a problem with the shoes pivoting to the side as a heavy pallet passes over, thereby losing contact with the pallet. Also, in the prior art, pallets generally can pass over a shoe only in one direction, because the shoe cannot withstand the force coming from a pallet in the reverse direction.